Amerisafe provides the following advice on the safe felling of trees with chainsaws:
- Inspect trees thoroughly. Key risk items to look for include dead limbs, widow makers, entwined branches or vines from adjacent trees, and weak root systems. Once the tree is inspected, the surrounding area needs to be checked. Clear obstacles on the ground in the immediate area such as loose rocks, dead limbs, live saplings or shrubs. When the tree has been felled, wait for it to settle and watch for any residual trees that continue to sway and may fall.
- Examine the lean of trees. Most trees have a degree of lean, making it necessary to determine to which side the tree is leaning. This affects the side the chainsaw operator will finish on. It is usually better for operators to cut from the “safe” side of the tree.
- Escape routes. Plan an escape route or retreat path away from a falling tree. Make sure that this route is cleared of obstacles in the opposite direction of fall and at a 45 degree angle.
- Controlling the fall of the tree. In order to do this, a hinge is necessary. The hinge needs to be the correct length and thickness to avoid pulling fibre from the butt log as the trees falls. The hinge thickness should be approximately 10% of the diameter of the tree. It should have equal width across the stump. If, after felling several trees you are getting fibre pull, reduce the thickness of the hinge.
- Length of the hinge. This is important for guiding the direction of the fall. The hinge should be approximately 80% of the tree’s diameter. For example, a 15” tree will need a 12” hinge.
- Determine the plan of your cut. Identify where the notch and hinge are needed, set them up, and cut a back cut level with the open face notch from the non-lean side of the tree. If this is not possible, re-evaluate and identify any potential hazards before proceeding. Source: https://amerisafe.com/site72.php